Most
people in most societies know about war.
Even if we have not experienced it ourselves we have usually met someone
who has. War is in our histories, in our monuments and on television. We are
all too familiar with the images of mangled bodies, shattered houses and
endless lines of refugees. War seems to be an inevitable part of the human
condition.
We
vary in our understanding of war. For some people war seems romantic - an arena
of excitement and heroism. Very often such individuals have never been to war.
However most people who have experienced war directly know that it is nearly
always sordid and quite often horrific.
A
vast amount has been written about war. Sadly it has been central to the myths
and legends of the human race. War has been a continuing lethal thread of
history. There are fewer writings on
peace than on war - but the literature is still very substantial. In spite of all this knowledge we still have
not been able to prevent war.
Early
on in the twentieth century, 'the war to end all wars' was waged. It was at the
time also called 'The Great War' but there was little great about it except for
the number of casualties and it did not end further wars. Only twenty years
after it finished, as another major war descended on the planet, the name of
the 'The Great War' had to be changed to 'The First World War', the war my
grandfather went to. World War Two truly was a world war, fought by nations
around the planet. It killed more than twice as many people as World War One.
The
total body count for the twentieth century from war, genocide and other human
decisions (such as the purges of Hitler, Mao and Stalin) has been estimated at
up to 226 million - the bloodiest century to date. The slaughter in the first
half of the century with its First and Second World Wars was immense. We
therefore tend to think of the second half of the century as being relatively
peaceful. But even in this latter period, from 1945 - 2000, it has been
estimated that there were at least one hundred and seventy wars with over fifty
million people killed.[i] This
century witnessed the greatest wars in human history. Even worse it saw the
birth of the nuclear technology that threatens the very survival of our
species.
It
was of course a time of huge changes for humanity. New inventions included the
aircraft, television, the computer, the atomic bomb, the space shuttle, the
mobile phone and the genetically engineered crop. Ironically the technology
which allowed the slaughter of millions upon millions also gave us the capacity
to greatly improve the human condition. Advances in medicine and agriculture now
promise longer healthier lives and fuller bellies. New medical techniques and
new drugs have greatly reduced the physical pain and disability of the kind
suffered by previous generations. Mass communications and cheaper travel have
given us an opportunity to become much better educated about the world around
us.
In
spite of its problems, the electronic age has made us more aware of war and has
improved human rights. It is quite hard to hide famine and bloodshed from the
television screens of the world. Democratic government is almost certainly more
widespread around the globe than it has ever been before. In spite of
continuing abuses (and we should not minimise the appalling injustice and
oppression that is still occurring in almost all societies) human rights are
probably more widely accepted - in principle at least - than they have ever
been. Overt torture and public execution if not extinct are very rare. Almost
nowhere do we still burn people at the stake. We may not in the foreseeable
future rid the world of unnecessary pain and of injustice, but we are making
some progress.
For
many of the problems we confront we know the solutions, even if we do not
always apply them. Population control is achievable - and through a combination
of rising living standards and family planning is beginning to be achieved.
Famine is slowly being overcome through improved farming practices.
Environmental
degradation is a very serious issue and is still widespread across the planet.
However the problem is almost universally recognised and is at last being
addressed. Pollution control, recycling, reafforestation, energy conservation
and a range of other measures are all being applied and we are beginning to see
some positive changes. There are some people who believe that we are already
too late and that world environmental disaster from global warming and other
factors is inevitable. While taking their views extremely seriously and working
as hard as we can to reverse the problems, we must hope that they are mistaken
in their forecasts.
There
should be little debate, though, about an area in which we do not seem to have moved very far
ahead. That challenge is the control of
war.
We
could argue that since 1946 we have had no world wars. (Of course if we had none of us might now be around to
discuss the matter!). We have also made some progress in nuclear disarmament
among the great powers, although the weapons that remain could still wipe out
the world as we know it. We might also
agree that - with all its faults - there is the United Nations. It is far from
perfect but without the UN we would have seen many more conflicts or even the
outbreak of a Third World War.
Thankfully
there have been no massive conflicts on the scale of the World Wars and there
is some evidence that armed conflict declined substantially during the 1990s.[ii] But there have still been many other wars - in
Two
centuries ago the metal bullet and the explosive bomb - with some assistance
from the blade - were the main implements of war. Today apart from huge
sophistication - and a much lesser role for the blade - little has changed. An
AK 47 fires more quickly than a musket.
A laser guided missile is more accurate and far more devastating than a
grenade. But when nations come into conflict they still try to kill each
other's citizens by bullet or explosive. In spite of all our technological
progress in other fields, when it comes to conflict between nations we continue
to be locked into the same barbaric tussles.
Could
there be other ways? We have created space modules that can navigate through
the rings of Saturn or land on Mars. We can build heart pacemakers and palm-top
computers. Could we not create new technologies for resolving conflict -
technologies that better suit our species than bullets and explosives? We have
shown ourselves to be immensely competent at coordinating our international
airline schedules and our communications systems. We can market and distribute
a particular brand of soft drink to the remotest corner of the globe. Could we
not employ these same amazing skills in achieving a culture of peace across the
planet?
Most
strategies for preventing or arresting war have focussed on political and
diplomatic approaches. These can be extraordinarily helpful in preventing the
onset of conflict. But despite all diplomatic and political efforts war still
continues to break out and to cause untold misery when it does.
Can
we do anything? A central thesis of this
book is that we can.
In
recent years a new and rather different approach to the problem of war has
begun to emerge. This confronts the problem from a different angle. It starts
with the view that for the immediate future at least some wars are inevitable.
Having accepted that war will happen, ways are sought to reduce the damage to
those involved. In other contexts, such as drug abuse, this kind of approach is
described as 'harm-minimisation'.
Many
of the objectives of a traditional war can be achieved without killing or
injuring people. Supplies can be cut-off or destroyed. The enemy's weapons and
ammunition can be eliminated. Cities can be besieged. Troops can be surrounded
and captured.
A
new addition to these age-old tactics is the use of technology to create so-called
'non-lethal weapons'.[iii] The
concept of 'non-lethal' weapons has been developed by various military analysts
and is being explored in particular by the US Military. Non-lethal weapons are
devices that disable the enemy but do not kill or cause lasting injury. They
may include agents that temporarily stun or entangle troops or disable guns,
tanks, missiles and other equipment.
Of
course even if we can create effective non-lethal weapons the technology is
only half the story. Linked to that new technology has to be a completely fresh
approach to warfare - a whole new culture of non-lethal conflict resolution.
The
concept of non-lethal weaponry will be one important focus of this book. But we
shall also examine some of the origins of war and some of the innate drives
which seem to push us into the mutually lethal behaviour that we know as
warfare. As well, we shall explore some ways in which we might employ our
formidable organisational and communication skills to channel these dangerous instincts
into more productive outcomes.
Humans
have probably talked of ending war since the dawn of history and it will
certainly not happen overnight. We
should maintain a healthy scepticism about any quick fixes to global conflict -
about any instant world peace. On the
other hand we must never give up our efforts to get rid of war. We must never
let go of the vision.
We
should not expect to get rid of all conflict amongst humans. Conflict (as
opposed to lethal warfare) is an inevitable and essential element of existence.
We should not therefore try to eliminate this kind of clash. However, while
accommodating non-injurious conflict (in political debate, for example, or in
trade, or in sport) we may be able to find ways of greatly reducing the damage
from war as we now know it. And of course one day we might even look towards
eliminating all death and injury caused by deliberate acts of war.
Two
hundred years ago the disease of smallpox was greatly feared. It was disfiguring
and often deadly. Who then could have foretold that smallpox would be defeated
by vaccination and then effectively be eradicated? Today, the virus only exists
in few glass phials in cold storage. Poliomyelitis may soon follow a similar
path.[iv]
In the same way, although we can’t expect to eradicate war by the end of the
week, perhaps we might hope to do so within the next few centuries. Meanwhile
we may be able to curtail war's lethality. In so doing we will need to create a
new culture - a culture in which we are less violent to each other and yet in
which we still experience the physical and mental challenges that our instincts
demand.
Those
who say that war can be completely abolished are often accused of being naive.
This book takes the view that nature is frequently ruthless and that, of all
creatures, humans can be amongst the most cruel. It also ventures that we
humans, with all our faults, have proved quite remarkably resourceful and that
we could be ingenious enough to solve the problem of war before it is too late.
Let’s
not deceive ourselves. The efforts of the majority of the citizens of the world
to create a safe and peaceful existence may be overtaken by the stupidity and
greed of just a few of our leaders plunging us into complete annihilation. I
suggest that we should be aware that this might happen, but at the same time
try everything we can to prevent such a senseless and tragic outcome.
In
this book we shall first look briefly at some of the origins of war and then
investigate the nature of war itself. We shall review the dark side of warfare,
looking at all the damage it causes. We will then study its benefits, such as
they are.
From
there we shall examine strategies for achieving peace. As mentioned above, we shall
consider how we might handle inevitable conflicts so that they cause minimum
damage. We will investigate the possibility of ‘war without death'.
We
will consider the role of an 'army of the future' which can remain an effective
guardian of last resort and yet also devote most of its energies to productive
community development. We shall look at how all these initiatives might be
considered in the context of what we shall call peace technology.
Finally
we will discuss some strategies that will combine these approaches. New
technologies, in partnership with improved democratic structures and supported
by strategic communication, may allow us to resolve conflict without bloodshed
and build a worldwide culture of peace.
Chapter 1 The Problems of War
1
Milton Leitenberg, Deaths in wars
and conflicts between 1945 and 2000, Paper
prepared for Conference on Data Collection in Armed Conflict Uppsala, Sweden,
June 2001.
[ii] Andrew Mack, War and Peace in the 21st Century, Human Security
Centre,
[iii] A number of individuals have been involved
in developing the concept of non-lethal weapons. See Chapters 13 and 14 for
references.
Chapter 2
Conflict and Cooperation – Guilt and Genes
[iv] Polio has proved rather more stubborn than
smallpox and may not be completely eradicated for a while, but it is now found
in only a very few areas.